Bogota: At least 20 people were killed and dozens of buildings collapsed across western Colombia on Monday after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the South American country.

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 47 people, trapping residents under collapsed buildings and forcing people to flee their homes as far away as the capital Bogotá.

The epicentre was in San José del Palmar, a community of around 4,800 people in the Chocó region, about 400 kilometres west of Bogotá, according to the US Geological Survey and Colombia’s Geological Service.

The USGS said the earthquake struck at a depth of 107 kilometres. Tremors were also felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama, although only minimal damage was reported there.

Death toll rises across several cities

Local officials confirmed that at least 18 people were killed in Pereira, two in Manizales and 27 in the Valle del Cauca department, where Colombia's third-largest city, Cali, is located.

At least three of those killed in Valle del Cauca were children, the governor said.

Cities across western Colombia, including Pereira, Quibdó, Cali and Manizales, were badly affected. Residents and rescue teams searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings as authorities warned of possible aftershocks.

Colombia's interior minister said more than 20 municipalities across the country had been affected by the earthquake.

Residents search rubble for survivors

In Cali, 64-year-old taxi driver Jorge Moncayo said he saw plumes of dust rising across the city as buildings collapsed.

Residents and rescue workers joined efforts to search through the debris for survivors.

“My entire house shook. I've never lived through such a powerful earthquake," he said. “We're thanking god we're alive.”

Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped in at least 19 buildings that had collapsed.

Airport ceiling collapses in Pereira

In Pereira, photos and videos published by local media showed sections of the airport ceiling falling while travellers took shelter and screamed.

People were also seen running through rubble in panic as the earthquake shook the city.

Pereira Mayor Mauricio Salazar told a local radio station that at least 18 people had died and that many others remained trapped under “a massive quantity of collapsed buildings.”

Cathedral tower collapses in Manizales

In nearby Manizales, a city surrounded by Colombia's coffee-producing mountains, one of the towers of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed onto the nave.

Manizales Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said two people had died in the city “because of the quake”. He urged residents to remain outside because of the risk of aftershocks.

Authorities in rural Chocó, where the earthquake was centred, reported injuries and damaged buildings in the regional capital but provided few further details.

Aftershocks reported, flights suspended

Colombia’s Geological Service said the earthquake was “the highest magnitude earthquake registered in Colombia in the last decade”.

It was followed by two aftershocks measuring 2.8 and 4.8 in magnitude, according to the service.

Flights were also suspended at airports in Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura and Pereira.

Memories of deadly earthquakes add to fears

The earthquake left many people across the Andean nation unnerved, particularly after two back-to-back earthquakes devastated neighbouring Venezuela in late June.

Those quakes destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people. As buildings collapsed in Colombia, families in Venezuela were still searching through ruins for the bodies of their loved ones.

Small earthquakes, known locally as “temblores”, are common in central and western Colombia. However, earthquakes measuring above 6.0 in magnitude are rare.

In 1999, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake near the city of Armenia killed more than 1,100 people.

President takes charge of emergency response

Colombia’s newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella said on Monday that he had personally taken charge of the government’s response to the emergency in San José del Palmar.

“You are not alone. The state is present and taking action,” he said.